• Living, learning and making friends in another country helps you connect with a world larger than your own.
• Staying with a host family will help you appreciate perspectives of other people, as well as their cultures, values and traditions.
• Learning another language or strengthening your language skills allows you to see the world through the eyes of others and experience a new culture in a much more personal way.
• Exchange programmes provide practical skills and understanding you need to communicate, collaborate and make friends with people from different cultures and backgrounds.
• Learning how to become a global citizen will help you understand, define and take your place in the world.
• Studying abroad builds confidence and helps you become more comfortable in new and cross-cultural settings—in your home community or across the world.
• New opportunities that can help you discover your path in life will be opened to you.
• You’ll build your academic portfolio and CV/resume and stand out from the crowd when you apply to university.
• Joining a global community like AFS helps you embrace differences and realize that our world is stronger and more interesting because of them.

AFS offers carefully-designed international adventures that are fun, challenging and and will change your life forever. Will an excellent reputation for providing high-quality, safe and satisfying international programmes for more than 75 years.

Your AFS experience will help you mature and develop skills that you will use throughout your lifetime:

• Explore and discover a new culture
• Learn to live and enjoy life outside your comfort zones
• Get accustomed to making more decisions on your own
• Enjoy amazing adventures with new friends from around the world
• Try out new sports and unfamiliar activities
• Share everyday life and cultural traditions with your host family and classroom

Each programme has a different price due to insurance, cost of living and support costs in each country.

Our administration fee is the first payment you will make of $450 at the time of submitted your full online application. You will then receive a payment schedule for your fees over 4 payments across 6 months prior to your departure.

• There are scholarships and funding available and some students fundraise for the money. Every year hundreds of exchange students raise money to do an exchange.
• To get started, send us an enquiry about the destination or programme you are interested in.

Absolutely! AFS staff, volunteers and host families or dorm counselors want to help make your experience enjoyable and memorable.

The AFS Student Learning Journey & Curriculum programme will help you become more comfortable with your new family and school, make friends and develop skills and understanding to communicate and make friends with people from different cultures. The journey is:

• Facilitated by trained AFS volunteers and staff.
• Based on the well-established AFS Student Educational Goals that are valued by universities and employers around the world.
• Made of fun and informative orientation sessions and useful learning materials in your home and host countries.
• Guided by the AFS Student Learning Journey & Curriculum that includes, activities, role playing exercises and discussions that will help you fit into your new family, school and community.

• Most AFS students live with a volunteer host family. Our families are carefully chosen, screened and prepared to welcome an AFS student into their home. You’ll be treated like one of the family and welcomed to join in family routines, meals, activities and traditions.
• Although much less common, some students live in dormitories, with weekend homestays to experience everyday life in a new community. For a very few short-term programs, students may even live in camp-like settings, if appropriate.
• Once your application is accepted, AFS volunteers and staff in the host country will look for a community and family that are right for you. We encourage you to be as open and flexible as possible when it comes to placement.
• All living facilities and situations are inspected and closely monitored by AFS throughout the exchange experience.